Telegraph sending instrument



sept. -2,9, 1925.

. J. A. HULIT TELEGRAPH SENDING INSTRUMENT Filed June 12. 1922 3Sheets-Sheet l TELEGRAPH SENDING INSTRUMENT F'led June 12. 1922 5Sheets-Sheet -2 Sept. 29, 1925-.

J. A. HULIT TELEGRAPH SENDING INSTRUMENT Filed June 12. 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 5 `i Il v Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

J'OIIN A. HULIT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TELEGRAPH SENDING INSTRUMENT.

Application filed inne 12, 1922. Serial' No. 567,541.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN A. HULIT, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Telegraph Sending Instruments, of which thefollowing is a specification.V

This invention relates to telegraph sending instruments in general, andmore particularly to those in which means are provided for sending aplurality of dots by only a single pressure of thel lever or telegraphkey, and is in the nature of an improvement on the constructiondisclosed in prior application No. 586,612 filed February 15, 1922 for asimilar instrument.

Generally stated, therefore, the object of the invention, and of theimprovement hereinafter described, is to provide an improvedconstruction arrangement whereby only a vsingle makeI and break deviceis vincluded in the telegraph line circuit, in combination with aconstantly operating friction drive connection for operating theinstrument, and certain other desirable elements, as will hereinaftermore fully appear.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features ofconstruction and combinations tending to increase the general efficiencyand desirability of a telegraph sending instrument of this particularcharacter.

To these and other useful ends the invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawingsin which Figure 1 is a plan viewof a telegraph sending instrumentembodying the principles of the invention. y

Figure 2 is a side elevation of said instrument.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of said instrument.

'Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a transverse section on line 5 5 in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a transverse section on line 6 6 in Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a detail view.

Figure 8 is a transverse vertical section on line 8 8 in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a transverse section onl line 9 9 in Figure 7 As thusillustrated, the invention comprises a suitable base 1 upon which ismounted a more or less rectangular frame- 2, and also an electric motor3 of any suitable character. A longitudinally disposed drive shaft 4 issupported at one end in a bearing 5 on the frame, and has its other endsuitably connected by worin gearing (not shown) in the housing 6, whichgearing is driven by the motor to rotate the shaft 4 at the requiredspeed.y This shaft is provided with a pinion 7 to engage the gear wheel8 on the shaft 9 which is supported by the frame 2 'previouslymentioned, Another gear wheel 10 is adjacent to the gear wheel 8,loosely on the shaft 9, and a friction connection 11 is provided betweenthe two opposing flat surfaces of the gear wheels, whereby rotation ofthe gear whe.'l 8 will produce rotation of the gear wheel 10, undercertain conditions. A. spring 12 is arranged to press the gear wheel 10toward the gear wheel 8, thus ensuring the desired or necessary degreeof friction to produce rotation of the gear 10 `when the latter is notheld normally in a stationary position.

The make and break device to be operated by the gear 10, in sendingmessages, comprises a shaft 13 lextending longitudinally of the frame 2and provided near its rear end with a pinion 14 to engage the gear wheel10, in the manner shown. Outside of the frame 2, shown more clearlyinFigure 4, the shaft 13 is provided with a ratchet wheel 15, and avibratory arm 16 isvpivoted at 17 on the frame to swing about ahorizontal axis, and to engage the ratchet wheel 15 at its uppr end. Thelower end of this arm 16 has a contact 18 to engage and disengage thestationary contact 19, which latter is adjustable by means of the .screwthreaded elements 20 to regulate the gap of this make and break devicewhich controls the line circuit. A spring 21 is arranged to pull the arm16 into position to close the make and break device, but th gap of thisdevice is normally open, as shown, so that the line circuit is normallyopen It will be understood that the two contacts 18 and 19 of the makeand break device can be included in the line circuit in any suitable ordesired manner. lVhen the gear wheel 10 is rotated, the pinion 14 isthereby rotatd and this rotates the shaft 13 and causes the ratchetwheel 15, or any suitable toothed wheel, to rotate and operate the arm16 about its aXis to cause an opening and closing of the make and breakdevice, when it is desired to send a plurality or series of dots.However, when it is desired to send a dash, then the shaft 13 is allowedto rotate only just enough to release the arm 16 from its normalposition, so that the contact 18 will engage the contact 19, and thisclosure of contacts continues until the dash has been transmitted, andthen the circuit is opened again.

The telegraph key or lever mechanism which controls the rotation of theshaft 13, thereby to determine whether dots or dashes shall betransmitted, and in what manner, is as follows: The telegraph key orlever 22 by which the dots are transmitted is pivoted at 23 to swingabout a vertical axis, this pivot being formed by vertical member 24supported in the frame in any suitable manner. This lever 22 carriesadjustable screws 25 for engaging the spring 26 carried in the framemember 27 so that the lever is held outward against the stationary screw28 which forms an adjustable stop for limiting the outward movement ofthe lever, this screw 28 being supported on the frame in any suitablemanner. An adjustable screw 29 is provided on the lever 22 for enga-gingthe frame member 30 which forms a stop to vlimit the inward movement ofsaid lever.

The key lever 31 for sending the dashes is pivoted at 32, so that itswings about a vertical axis, this aXis being provided by a member 33supported in a suitable manner in the frame. This lever 31 has anadjustable screw 34 for engaging the coil spring 35 in the member 27, sothat the lever 31 is normally held outward against the stationary stopprovided by the adjustable screw 36, which latter is also suitablymounted on the frame. An adjustable screw 37 is inserted though thelever 31 to engage the stationary stop 30 previously mentioned, wherebythe inward movement of this lever 31 is limited. With this construction,the two key levers can be regulated to ensure the proper operation oraction thereof. The shaft 13 has its front end provided with a ratchetwheel 38, and ratchet dogs 39 and 40V are suitably pivoted on the frameto engage and disengage said ratchet wheel, these dogs being controlledby springs 41 and 42, respectively, which pull the upper ends of thedogs into engagement with the'ratchet wheel. The pivots for the two.dogs are at 43 and 44, so that they operate about longitudinally andhorizontally disposed axes during the operation of the instrument. Thelever 22 has a projection 45 for engaging the lower end of the dog 29,to release the latter from the ratchet wheel 38, thereby to send aseries of dots, as

the shaft 13 will rotate as .soon as it is released by this dog, withthe result previously described. In other words, a series of dots willbe transmitted as long as the lever 22 is held in its actuated position,for at such time the dog 39 is disengaged from the ratchet wheel 38 andthe make and break device previously described is free to operate until,in the judgment of the operator, the correct number of dots has beentransmitted. The lever 31 has a hook 46 which engages a pin 47 on thedog 40, so that this pin is normally held out of engagement with theratchet wheel 38, and only engages said wheel when the lever 31 ispressed inward.

l/Vhen the lever 31 is pressed inward it will be seen that thetransverse screw 48 carried by the lever 31 engages the pin 49 on thedog 39,-thus releasing this dog from the ratchet wheel. Consequently,what happens at this time, of course, is that vas the dog 39 disengagesthe ratchet wheel 38 the shaft 13 turns a little but stops as .soon asthe pin 47 of the dog 40 enters and engages the ratchet wheel, thusholding the make and break device closed to transmit a dash which willcontinue as long as the lever 31 is held in operative position.

Thus it will be seen that a single make and break device 18 and 19 isoperated by the constantly 'operating friction drive 8, 10 and 11, undercontrol of two telegraph keys, to transmit either dots or dashes atwill. The operator, if right-handed, will place the thumb on the keylever 22 and a finger on the lever 31, and will operate these leverslaterally to transmit the dots and dashes in the manner required by themessages to be transmitted. W'ith only a single make and break device,it becomes obvious that the spacing between a group of dots and a dashwill be certain, and that all of such spaces will be uniform and of thesaine character. In other words, the ldots are transmitted by the samemake and break device by which the dashes are transmitted, and itfollows ilo that the transition from one to the other cannot take placetoo soon. For example, with some arrangements the transmission of thedash following a group `of dots can take place too soon, or too close onthe heels of the group of dots, and vice versa it is possible to startthe transmission of a group of dots too soon and even before thetransmission of the dash is fully completed, thus interfering withproper spacing. With the construction shown and described, however,comprising the single make and break device 18 and 19, which operatesunder control of the two key levers, it is impossible to start thetransmission of a group of dots too soon after the transmission of adash, and vice versa it is impossible to start the transmission of adash too soon after the transmission of a group of dots, for there isonly the one make and break device and the control thereover is suchthat the correct spacingis ensured.

With the construction shown and described, both the dots and the dashesare transmitted through the contacts 18 and 19, so that this single makeand break point in the circuit is sufficient for both dots and dashesand for all of the messages.

lVhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of a make and breakdevice having contacts to transmit dots, means whereby said device isalso operative to transmit dashes, whereby the dots and dashes are alltransmitted through the same contacts, a constantly operating motor,power transmitting means to transmit power from said motor to saiddevice, and a key to manually control said power transmitting means andwhereby to start and stop the operation of the device at will andwithout stopping the operation of said motor, said power transmittingmeans comprising two gear wheels arranged close together with a frictiondrive connection from one to the other, a pinion for driving one gearwheel, and a pinion driven by the other wheel, said last mentionedpinion being held normally against rotation by the normal position ofsaid key, whereby one gear wheel rotates continuously while the otherone rotates intermittently under control of said key.

2. A structure as specified in claim l, said power transmitting meansComprising a normally closed friction clutch one member of which is heldnormally against rotation by the normal position of said key.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, comprising a ratchet dog fornormally preventing operation of said device, andv means on said key todisengage said ratchet dog to permit operation of said device.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, said make and break devicecomprising a stationary contact and a vibratory lever for engaging saidcontact, rotary means for engaging and vibrating said lever and a springapplied to said lever to ensure the necessary vibratory movementthereof.

5. A structure as specified in claim 1, said means for operating saiddevice comprising a toothed wheel held normally against rotation by aratchet dog and a.vibratory lever engaging said toothed wheel.

6. A structure as specified in claim 1, said means for operating saiddevice comprising a normally closed friction clutch one member of whichis constantly rotating and the other member of which is held normallyagainst rotation by said ratchet dog.

7. A structure as specified in claim 1 said power transmitting meanscomprising a friction clutch one member of which rotates constantly andthe other member of which is normally held against rotation by thenormal position of said key.

v 8. In a telegraph sending instrument, the combination of a make andbreak device having contacts adapted to be connected with a line circuitto transmit electrical impulses, thereby to transmit either dots ordashes at will, whereby the dots and dashes are all transmitted throughthe same contacts,l a constantly operating motor, power transmittingmeans to enable said motor to operate said device, and key actuatedmeans for manually controlling said power transmitting means to startand stop said device at will, thereby to transmit any desired number ofimpulses, either dot-s or dashes, without stopping the operation of saidmotor, said make and break device comprising a stationary contact and avibratory lever one end of which serves as a movable contact to engageand disengage said stationary contact, a toothed wheel to vibrate saidlever, a spring controlling said lever, a ratchet dog to normally holdsaid wheel against rotation, and means actuated by said key to disengagesaid dog to start the operation of said device.

9. In a telegraph sending instrument, the combination of a make andbreak device having contacts adapted to be connected with a line circuitto transmit electrical impulses, thereby to transmit either dots ordashes at will, whereby the dots and dashes are all transmitted throughthe. same contacts, a constantly operating motor, power transmittingmeans to enable said motor to operate said device, and key actuatedmeans for manually controlling said power transmitting means to startand stop said device at will, thereby to transmit any desired number ofimpulses, either dots or dashes, without stoppingV the operation of saidmotor, said key actuated means comprising two key levers arranged toswing in a hori- Zontally disposed plane, one key for transmitting thedots and the other key for transmitting the dashes.

10. In a telegraph sending instrument, the combination of a make andbreak device having contacts adapted to be connected with a line circuitto transmit electrical impulses, thereby to transmit either dots ordashes at will, whereby the dots and dashes are all transmitted throughthe same contacts, a constantly operating motor, power transmittingmeans to enable said motor to operate said device, and key actuatedmeans for manually controlling said power transmitting means to startand stop said device at will, thereby to transmit any desired number ofimpulses, either dots oridashes, without stopping the operation of saidmotor, said key actuated means comprising a pair of key levers arrangedto swing in a horizontally disposed plane, a ratchet device between saidkey levers, for normally holding said make and break device open, andmeans on said key levers to control said ratchet device.

ll. The combination of a make and break device to transmit dots, meanswhereby said device is also operative to transmit dashes, a constantlyoperating motor, power transmitting means to transmit power from saidmotor to said device, and a key to manually control said powertransmitting means and whereby to start and stop the operation oi' thedevice at will and without stopping the operation of said motor, saidpower transmitting means comprising two gear wheels Varranged closetogether with a friction drive connection from one to the other, apinion for driving one gear wheel, and a pinion driven by the otherwheel, said last mentioned pinion being held normally against rotationby the normal position of said key, whereby one gear wheel rotatescontinuously while the other one rotates intermittently under control ofsaid key.

l2. in a telegraph sending instrument, the combination of a make andbreak device adapted to be connected with a line circuit to transmitelectrical impulses, thereby to transmit either dots or dashes at will,a constantly operating motor, power transmitting` means to enable saidmotor to operate said device, and key actuated means for manuallycontrolling said power transmitting means to start and stop said deviceat will, thereby to transmit any desired number ot impulses, either dotsor dashes, without stopping the operation of said motor, said make andbreak device comprising a stationary contact and a vibratory lever oneend of which serves as a movable contact to engage and disengage saidstationary contact, a toothed wheel to vibrate said lever, a springcontrolling said lever, a ratchet constantly operating motor, powertransmitting means to enable said motor to operate said device, and keyactuated means for manually controlling said power transmitting means tostart and stop said device at will, thereby to transmit any desirednumber of impulses, either dots or dashes, without stopping theoperation of said motor, said key actuated means comprising two keylevers arranged to swing in a horizontally disposed plane, one key fortransmitting the dots and the other key for transmitting the dashes.

14. In a telegraph sending instrument, the `combination of a make andbreak device adapted to be connected with a line circuit to transmitelectrical impulses, thereby to transmit either dots or dashes at will,a constantly operating motor, power transmitting means to enable saidmotor to operate said device, and key actuated means for manuallycontrolling said power transmitting means to start and stop said deviceat will, thereby to transmit any desired number of impulses, either dotsor dashes, without stopping the operation of said motor, said keyactua-ted means comprising a pair of key levers arranged to swing in ahorizontally disposed plane, a ratchet device between said key levers,for normally holding said make and break device open, and means on saidkey levers to control said ratchet device.

JOHN A. I-IULIT.

